I wouldn't have any reliability concerns with these engines...

         I got 180,000 miles out of the 1.8L in my '87 VW Fox, only ever
opened the engine to replace the timing belt (preventive maint). It did
develop an intermittent valve tap at about 160K, but I didn't exactly baby
the car (in fact, I made every attempt to beat it to death...). Most
reliable car I ever owned, and I got nearly 40MPG on trips, cruising along
in the 80MPH range (though the Fox was *way* lighter than a Vanagon).

         I've already put nearly 70,000 trouble-free miles on the 2.0L in
my '97 Jetta, engine untouched (but it's time to think about replacing that
timing belt...). This engine gets driven a bit less hard than the engine in
my Fox did (I'm a lot older and a bit wiser :-). Gas mileage is way lower,
due to the larger engine and heavier car, but still around 30MPG on long trips.

Good Luck!

Tim

At 04:40 PM 7/31/2003 -0400, Wengraf, John wrote:
>I am contemplating replacing my 2.1L WBX engine with either a 1.8L out of
>an 1989 Jetta or a 2.0L gas engine.  Any opinions on this choice?  Any
>reliability concerns with either engine?  How about fuel economy?
>
>
>
>Thanks - John